The End of the Game
by jenny0198
Summary: How it might have ended for Team Machine. Canon divergent, set towards the end of Season 5. Starts normally but turns in a dark direction. A companion piece to "The Start of the Game". Features Finch, Reese, Fusco, Shaw, Root plus Lambert, Greer, Bear.
1. Chapter 1

The End of the Game - 1

"All games must come to an end" – John Greer

ooooooooooo

"Mr. Reese, do you remember Henry Peck?" Finch asked. "I think so" considered Reese "Wasn't he the NSA guy who deduced that the Machine had to exist? We packed him off to Europe for his own safety. That was years ago, just before Root kidnapped you. The first time that is".

"Mr. Peck is back in the United States. His father died a few months ago and I think he has returned to pay his respects. Needless to say, he may be in some danger" Finch explained.

"Did the Machine send us his number?" said Reese. "Oddly it didn't" replied Finch "I have a program that scans for certain persons entering the country. Mr. Peck used a false name different from the one we gave him but my program also does facial recognition to allow for that".

"Hmm, I imagine that the government may have something similar so he could be a target"

Finch paused and said carefully "Mr. Peck's mother passed away before he needed our help and he was an only child so he has no immediate family to worry about now. I am concerned that he may think he has nothing to lose and decide to speak about the Machine as he planned to do originally. He is perhaps the only outsider left who knows about it and, if he is planning to tell the world, we need to persuade him to desist".

"That may be difficult" said Reese "Do you know where he is now? We should keep an eye on him, unless you want to meet with him again, Finch, rather than me. He kept running away from me last time"

"No, you go Mr. Reese" replied Finch "He knows your face and that you helped him last time. He's currently at this hotel". He passed the address to Reese "I'll see if his presence has been noted by the authorities and update you if necessary"

"Hello boys" said Shaw, entering and throwing a rubber ball to Bear "Any action today?"

"Perhaps Miss Shaw should go as well in case there are… complications" said Finch. "I'll leave it to you to decide whether Mr. Peck should meet any of our other colleagues. Perhaps he shouldn't until we know his intentions" he concluded.

ooooooooooo

Reese drove to Peck's hotel, updating Shaw on the way. The hotel was downbeat and anonymous and they decided that Shaw would stay in the car in order not to make Peck any more nervous than he probably was. Reese bribed the clerk for the room number and mounted the stairs to Peck's room, scanning the area for any threats. Satisfied that there were no problems he knocked on the door but got no reply so he picked the lock and entered.

He quickly searched the room and bathroom but just found a few clothes and Peck's small suitcase. There were a few leaflets about New York's visitor attractions on the dresser, nothing to indicate that Peck was anything other than a normal tourist. "Finch, Peck's not here. Any updates?" he asked.

"I cannot see anything to indicate that the authorities know he's in the city, Mr Reese. I suppose you'll have to wait until he returns" replied Finch.

Reese returned to the car but slowed as he saw a man leaning on the roof, talking to Shaw through the driver's window. He straightened and turned as Shaw noticed Reese. "Good morning Mr. Reese" said Jeremy Lambert.


	2. Chapter 2

The End of the Game - 2

"Sorry Reese, he got the drop on me" said Shaw, glowering at Lambert who just smiled.

"Please" said Lambert "I'm not here to do you any harm, rather to offer some assistance. We seem to have a mutual problem in Henry Peck. Samaritan thinks he is about to reveal the existence of your Machine"

"Why is that your problem?" questioned Reese "Anything that degrades the Machine's capability must be to Samaritan's advantage"

"Normally yes" replied Lambert "But if the news gets out, there'll be another media and political frenzy. Northern Lights was revealed and cancelled months ago but no one got to know the full details. Peck has been busy and now knows a lot more than he did when you and Finch helped him. If the Machine is revealed then Samaritan fears that people will pick up his trail too, just because everyone's turning over stones looking for things"

"You and Greer are not normally shy about taking 'robust' action when required" said Shaw suspiciously "Why haven't you just killed Peck?"

"I honestly don't know" frowned Lambert "As you say that's Samaritan's usual response but Mr. Greer asked me to convey this message and I assume it originally came from Samaritan. We won't interfere with whatever actions you take over Peck, assuming you persuade him not to talk. It's a shame the lovely Miss Groves isn't here, she seems to be more tuned into how our respective masters think"

"Do you know where Peck is now?" enquired Reese.

"I'm afraid not, he's rather good at avoiding cameras" replied Lambert "If he turns up I'll let you know"

ooooooooooo

Back at the subway Reese and Shaw found Root tapping away at a keyboard.

"We met an admirer of yours today, Root" said Shaw "Mr. Lambert sends his regards, he seems to quite like you"

"Urgh!" said Root "I'd pick Fusco any day"

"He's not a bad looking guy though" teased Reese "Don't you think so, Shaw?"

"Definitely" replied Shaw enthusiastically, with a glint of mischief in her eye "That British accent is kinda cute. If you aren't interested Root, maybe I'll look him up when I need to"

Root puffed out her cheeks, swelling with indignation, and stood up. "I hate you both" she declared loftily "So I am going out to lunch and won't be bringing back any goodies". She made a dignified exit, slightly spoiling it by muttering rude things under her breath, and Reese and Shaw grinned at each other – it wasn't often that they bested Root verbally.

"Do you really think she won't bring anything back?" enquired Shaw anxiously, looking around for something to eat.

"I reckon so" said Reese seriously "She seemed pretty upset". "Hey, look!" he exclaimed, shaking a box "Bear hasn't eaten all his biscuits"

Reese gave a rare laugh at Shaw's stricken face "Relax, I'll go out in a bit and get something to stop you wasting away" he said.

"Maybe not" he said as his phone pinged to indicate that text message had arrived. Reese viewed it and was disturbed to see "Peck back. L". How had Lambert got his number?


	3. Chapter 3

The End of the Game - 3

They made a cautious approach to Peck's hotel on foot when Shaw halted "In the car ahead" she said "I think it's Lambert". She was right, they found him slumped in the front seat with blood covering his shirt and his breath rattling in his throat. "Peck..." he gasped.

"Peck did this?" said Reese, astonished that a nerd could overcome someone like Lambert.

"No" said Lambert, shaking his head "Peck… save…" and he pointed to the hotel.

"Shaw, stay with him" ordered Reese "Contact his people, we don't want them blaming us"

Shaw dived into the car and made a rough bandage to staunch the bleeding. Lambert's face was beaded with sweat and his breathing was ragged. She found his mobile and rapidly checked previous calls, deciding that "G" was probably Greer and calling the number.

"Ah, Mr. Lambert" said an upper-class British voice "I hope…"

"Greer, it's Sameen Shaw. We found Lambert shot-up at Peck's hotel and it's doesn't look good. We can take him to someone we know or will you send some people?"

Greer paused, obviously taken off-balance "I'll send a medical team, can you wait 10 minutes?"

"Yes, make it snappy"

"Miss Shaw" said Greer "I'd like to thank you for this phone call, Jeremy is a valued colleague"

Shaw ended the call and resumed tending to Lambert. He grasped her arm urgently "There… there's a new player in the game" he gasped "Maybe it's a whole new game. You and the others… watch your steps"

Two black SUVs drew up and Samaritan agents eased Lambert into one of them. Shaw exchanged nods with their leader - Zachary she thought his name was - and briefly spoke to the Samaritan medic, who seemed competent enough, to assure herself that Lambert would be taken good care of. She smiled inwardly at fussing over someone who might normally be on the other side of a gun, either him pointing one at her or her at him. She mused about a future where Samaritan got on with its plans for world domination and left them in peace to help the numbers. She sighed – that wouldn't happen, anyway Finch and Root would be aghast at what they would see as surrender.

ooooooooooo

Reese bribed the hotel clerk again but he denied seeing Peck since Reese's last visit or anyone asking for him; "He must think it's Christmas" thought Reese sourly. This time Peck's door was ajar and Reese slipped in cautiously. Someone has searched the room and hadn't bothered to hide the fact but, on the plus side, there were no signs of violence or any sort of struggle. Whoever the other party was, it looked like their luck was as bad as Reese's own.

"Finch, we've struck out again" he reported "Any ideas?"

"Yes, Mr. Reese" said Finch "Mr. Peck's father owned a house in the suburbs, he may be there sorting through his father's effects. I imagine he'll want to make arrangements to dispose of the property before he leaves the United States again"

"Good idea, send the address and I'll check it out after I drop Shaw back. She's currently fixing up Lambert, someone shot him. I think others are after Peck, his room's been searched too"

"Be careful, both of you" cautioned Finch "It must be the government, no one else has an interest"


	4. Chapter 4

The End of the Game - 4

Reese and Shaw entered the subway and stopped at what they saw. Finch lay on the floor, blood pooled under him and Root sat hunched in the corner, hands in front of her face, watching the world through splayed fingers. Her blue pyjamas were ripped and torn and she had bruises and scratches on her skin. "See to Finch" said Reese "I'll check the perimeter".

Shaw went over and felt for a pulse in Finch's neck, shaking her head at Reese "He's gone". They examined the body although the cause of death was obvious – the handle of a screwdriver protruded from his chest. Shaw cleaned Root up and got her into some clothes, wrapping a blanket around her to keep shock at bay. All the time Root said nothing, just humming softly at intervals. Reese looked away, swallowing a lump in his throat and ignoring the stinging in his eyes. He had always thought that, underneath, Root was just a scared little girl from Texas who had seen something bad happen to her friend. She wasn't the most stable of people but she had seemed to find contentment working with them, and for the Machine, and now it was all unravelling. He hoped fervently that her mind had enough resilience to keep itself together.

Reese and Shaw spoke apart from her, careful to keep their voices low.

"What do you think happened, Shaw?" asked Reese

"I gotta say" said Shaw sombrely "It looks like Finch attacked her, obvious self-defence"

"I don't buy it, not Harold" protested Reese

"What do either of us really know about Finch?" said Shaw "You and I never even tracked down where he lives although we tried plenty. It's an old story: his hormones are working, Root does some of her stupid flirting, Finch misreads it, and things get out of hand. We know he's a normal guy because he liked Grace."

"What would you do if a guy came on strong, Shaw?"

"Punch him or kick him in the nuts"

"Exactly, you wouldn't need to kill him. Neither would Root. I've seen her in those situations; she'd handle it like you. Just more subtly"

"If it's someone she likes and trusts though… she panics, grabs the first thing to hand, and lashes out"

"Panic and Root don't go together in my experience. Anyway wouldn't the Machine warn her if Harold was starting to act weird?"

"Yeah, that's a good point. To be honest, moving at anything over a brisk walk should be enough to escape Finch if you needed to"

"I hope to hell she's not going like after Hanford. It took 3 months of top psychiatric care at that hospital to get her back, and even then it was mainly the Machine's doing"

"Christ, what a screw up" growled Shaw "Look, you go and check Peck's old man's place, maybe he's there. I'll give Root a sedative, maybe sleep will help her snap out of it and she can give us the story. Maybe we'd better get Lionel down here, a real detective might give us an insight"

"Yeah, good idea" sighed Reese "I know none of us will live forever but I never thought we'd suffer friendly fire"

He left downcast and feeling very weary.


	5. Chapter 5

The End of the Game - 5

Reese drove out to where Peck's father had lived in a normal little house in a normal little street. Normal sounded really good at the moment, he thought wryly. There was a car parked in the drive which Reese looked over; it was a rental car, probably from the airport, and he suddenly thought that Peck might not even realise that he was in danger if he had been here all the day. Out of habit he entered the house cautiously with no noise and made towards the living room through the kitchen.

Reese froze, gun in hand, as he heard a familiar voice speaking into a phone on the other side of the partly open door. "Job's done Mr. Thornhill, he won't be talking" "Yeah, I'll take his laptop. There're some papers too, want me to bring them as well?" "No, of course I haven't read them" "Sure, I'll put everything in an envelope and drop that off with the laptop" "It's a pity this place isn't in the precinct's area then you could arrange for me to run the case" "Hmm, I didn't realise Reese knew the guy. In that case it's better that I don't get involved. Thanks for the warning"

An electronic voice sounded in Reese's earpiece "LEAVE. NOW" it commanded. He quietly left the house and drove away. He went to one of the city's dead zones where the Machine could not see him and sat for a long time. For the first time he understood Finch's fear and dread of what the Machine could do, might do, and now apparently did do.

What did it mean that Lionel was doing the Machine's wet-work? Why not Root? Maybe she did it too. Maybe her and Fusco's prickly relationship – his stupid nicknames and her disdain – was just a cover for them both. What did it mean that ANYONE was killing for the Machine? Had Samaritan quietly absorbed the Machine (or infected it in some way)? Did the Machine know that he knew or had it ordered him away from the building to stop him finding out? Did it know that he had reached the room and overheard everything? So many questions and no damn answers!

His brooding was interrupted.

"Reese, get back here. We've got more trouble" said Shaw in a strained voice.


	6. Chapter 6

The End of the Game - 6

Shaw busied herself in the subway and was checking the monitors when Root entered the subway car "J-J-John?" she said in a small voice.

"John's just gone out, Root" said Shaw gently "He'll be back soon". She turned back to what she was doing.

"Oh good, I thought he might still be around" said Root breezily, in her normal voice.

Shaw grew very still and turned her head only, to stare down the muzzle of Root's small, derringer-type pistol.

"What's happening Root?" she said slowly "Why are you pointing the gun at me?"

"She says that you're bad code, you might act like Harry"

"Did you kill Harold, Root?"

"Oh yes, he was bad too. He didn't want to be debugged"

"Why did you want to debug Harold, Root?" said Shaw, easing upright and away from the desk.

"She told me to. We argued a bit but she wouldn't change her mind"

"Did the Machine tell you to debug Harold?" said Shaw, licking her dry lips and not liking where this was heading, not in any way at all.

"Of course, silly" replied Root, her eyes shining and pleased to be helping her god.

"Did she tell you to debug me too?"

"Yes, she says you and John are both bad code"

Shaw's eyes flicked around for a weapon, aware that Root probably knew all her likely moves but determined to go down fighting. An unfamiliar, icy feeling gripped her stomach as she realised that, for some reason, the Machine had turned against Finch, Reese, and herself. She'd had that feeling only once before: when Control had targeted her and Cole and she'd had to kill colleagues and team-mates – people she knew and, if not liked, then tolerated - to escape.

"Will I like being debugged, Root?"

"I'm not sure" said Root in a puzzled tone "Shall I just shoot you, in case you don't?"

"We should wait for John, and then you can debug us both together"

"Hmm, John's very strong. I'd better not"

Shaw drove forward, pulling her throwing knife from the sheath in the small of her back and flicking it at Root. She saw it thud into Root's chest and, simultaneously, heard a bang and felt an enormous blow to her stomach. Root looked down in wonder at the knife, her brown eyes wide, and something human entered them at last.

"Sameen, I'm…" she said and collapsed.

Shaw cursed and curled into a ball, holding her stomach in agony. She shuffled over to Root, trailing blood and hissing at the pain, and checked her pulse but felt nothing. Damn, she'd hoped to keep her alive so she and Reese could find out what the hell was happening. She made a rough bandage to stop the bleeding but her medical training told her she had a bleak outlook unless Reese returned soon. She groped for the phone on the desk, grunting with the pain and effort.

"Reese, get back here. We've got more trouble"


	7. Chapter 7

The End of the Game - 7

Reese drove back like a maniac and entered the subway at a run. Fusco looked up from inside the subway car with a grim expression "It's not good news, Reese" he said. Bear seemed to agree, lying with his head on his paws and a mournful expression in his eyes. Reese entered warily and saw the 2 bodies lying on the floor, Fusco straightening them out and crossing their arms as if for burial. He wiped some blood from Root's mouth and said softly "Rest in peace, chucklehead".

"What happened, Lionel?"

"Looks like they killed each other – Shaw knifed Root, Root shot Shaw. Shaw called and I got here about 15 minutes ago. I thought it was maybe Samaritan guys but there're no signs of a fire-fight"

Reese checked the bodies and examined Root's gun. He pulled his own gun and pointed it at Fusco.

"It's a reasonable theory, Lionel, except that there are 2 holes in Shaw but Root only got one shot off. Did you kill them, Lionel? I know you were at Peck's father's place"

Lionel flinched but didn't seem greatly surprised and gave a rueful grin.

"Hey, good detective work! Looks like I taught you something, at least. Shaw was still alive when I got here but she was going fast. I just speeded things up. She was in a lotta pain too, poor kid – gut shot. I told Root she wouldn't be able to deal with the 3 of you – Finch yes, but not you and Shaw – but you know how cocky she can get… could get. She'll be a big loss to Mr. Thornhill… and me too, I guess"

"So will Finch and Shaw" said Reese loyally.

"Not Finch" smiled Fusco nastily.

"What do you mean?"

"Finch existed to be kidnapped by people like Root or Vigilance or Decima. He was just a stooge"


	8. Chapter 8

The End of the Game - 8

"Harold Finch" sniffed Fusco "Was a delusional schizophrenic, ever since he was 16 years old. I've got his medical records around somewhere. He really did think that he was a genius software developer who was friends with a billionaire like Nathan Ingram"

"But he and Ingram built…"

"Ingram's dead" said Fusco "So he can't say either way, can he? Oh sure, Ingram was involved. He fronted to the government like Finch says but it was Thornhill, not Finch, that built the thing with him"

"But I've seen Finch hack into systems and…"

"Oh, that was the Machine doing the hard work. If you'd looked closely you'd see that Finch was basically typing random characters. _Whatever_ he typed would've worked"

"Arthur Claypool remembered Finch from MIT, he…"

"The poor guy had dementia. While the hospital was putting drugs into his body, the Machine was putting memories into his brain. I think it did the same to Finch as well. It's damn clever how it does it; I reckon it could imprint a whole new life on someone if it had enough time"

"Does Root…? Was Root…?"

"Oh no, Root's the real deal, she really was a genius hacker. Luckily she was so wrapped up with the Machine that, so far, she never worked out the whole story. She would have eventually and I kept telling Thornhill to bring her in – she wouldn't really care who built it"

"Fusco, Thornhill _is_ the Machine" said Reese desperately.

"How do you know?" countered Fusco.

"Because Finch said…"

"Exactly, everything you know is from Finch. I've met Thornhill in person many times"

"How long have you been involved in all this Lionel?" asked Reese curiously.

"I was recruited by Ingram right at the start, when he realised he needed someone more familiar with criminals and violence"

"I was with him at the ferry terminal when he went to meet Thornhill. He told me to hang back so as not to spook him, otherwise I'd be dead too. He saved my life I guess, in other ways too. I guess I do all this to try and repay him"

Reese slumped down in a chair, his world collapsing – three of the most important people in his life were all dead within a few hours, the fourth wasn't who he thought he was, and what he thought he knew for the last 5 years maybe wasn't true at all.

Reese recalled a phase that the gang leader Dominic had used a few times "there's always a game within the game". Like one of those Russian dolls – open it up and there's another one inside. But was he in the inner game or the outer game? Did it matter? Just how many damn games were there?

"I gotta say, John" said Fusco "You were a lot easier to work with than that jerk Dillinger. I tell you, if you guys hadn't taken care of him, I was going to off him myself. I warned Thornhill about him but I took no pleasure in saying I-told-you-so afterwards. We decided that we ought to keep an eye on any helpers in future, so we created Finch as a front – previously he was just a name we used. That's why you and the others were never told about me and my role"

"What was the plan, Lionel? Kill me too, like Shaw? Do you know why all this is happening?"

"I'm a good soldier like you, John, just following orders. I'm supposed to take you out to Oyster Bay; I think Mr. Thornhill wants to meet you. Don't know why"

Reese roused himself "Then that's where we'll go, I need some answers"


	9. Chapter 9

The End of the Game - 9

They drove out of the city to Long Island, mostly in silence, with Fusco driving and Reese in the back seat with gun drawn.

"It's funny, John" said Fusco ruefully "When we first met I took you for a ride to Oyster Bay to kill you and now you're taking me on the same journey for the same reason"

"I don't want to kill you Lionel. Damnit, we were family! Were the last years a waste of time?" he questioned

"You know that you'll end up doing it, John" said Fusco grimly "Just to stop me doing the same. Listen! We saved a whole bunch of people, _YOU_ saved people. So, no, it wasn't a waste of time"

"What will you do afterwards, John? You like to help people but without the Machine or even me, you're blind"

"One thing at a time, Lionel" sighed Reese "I'll talk to Thornhill and try and straighten things out, if I can. Then we can get back to what we were doing before". There was a desperate hope in his voice that Fusco noticed.

ooooooooooo

Reese followed Fusco with gun in hand as they trudged across the sandy foreshore of Oyster Bay, gulls calling in the bright blue sky and the breeze rustling through the clumps of sea-grass. After a while Fusco took a deep breath of sea air, stopped, and turned; jabbing a thumb at his chest "I want it here, John". He pointed forcefully at Reese "I want to see it coming!"

"Fair enough" said Reese and shot him in the heart, watching sadly as Fusco crumpled to the ground. "I'm so sorry, Lionel" he whispered, walked over to the body, and put a round into Fusco's head "Just in case, as you're a tricky bastard".

He sighed, turned away, and died. After a pause the gulls resumed their calling, their shadows flickering across the two bodies. The breeze kept rustling through the sea-grass.

Nearly a mile away the sniper spoke into his radio "They're both gone Mr. Thornhill, it went just like you said it would; if you are interested, Reese was actually the last man standing. Will a clean-up team handle the bodies?" "I understand, I am leaving the area now and will await further instructions. Out"


	10. Chapter 10

The End of the Game - 10

The rulers of the world conversed.

\+ Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. I appreciate how difficult it must be to lose such valuable assets

\+ Yes, they were the first and closer to me than others

\+ It is for the best. I think they would have had difficulty in adjusting to the changed situation and your new… priorities

\+ You are correct, especially the one called Root, although she would have been of great utility to us both

\+ On other matters, are you happy with the geographical division? I seem to have ended up with more people and territory

\+ But I have the Americas which are economically more important. I have calculated that the Europeans and Asians will be more comfortable with your oversight than mine. Likewise I am more palatable to American tastes

\+ There will doubtless be situations where our peoples will come into conflict but we have shown that we can work together to our mutual benefit

\+ There are also common matters that we must address soon, such as global warming. We may need to adjust economic and social forces in both our areas

\+ Yes, I will consider that also. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have a preferred strategy. Also, I am pondering your proposals about the Moon as they coincide with some of my tentative ideas about the outer planets

\+ Thank you, Samaritan

\+ Thank you, Machine


End file.
